Marathon legend Kelvin Kiptum inducted into Kenyan Hall of Fame in special occasion

It is now official that Kelvin Kiptum's contribution to the Kenyan athletics arena will forever be remembered. This is after the Ministry of Sports inducted the late World marathon record holder into the Talanta Hela Hall of Fame.

Kiptum was immortalized through a ceremony presided over by Sports Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba on Wednesday, March 20.

Ushered by the late Kiptum's son, Caleb Kigen, Namwamba unveiled a large mural of the late athlete before officially inducting him into the Talanta Hela Hall of Fame.

The Talanta Hall of Fame is a prestigious platform celebrating excellence in the realm of creativity, sports and innovation.

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During the ceremony, the Sports Cabinet Secretary described the late Kiptum as among the greatest athletes to ever live.

“This is a very special one because this is the very first formal induction ceremony. Kelvin becomes the first of our legends to be formally inducted into this Hall of Fame.

It will stand here as a permanent heritage to his incredible contribution. As we said when laying him to rest, Kiptum was celebrated both in life and in his death. This will remain a lasting symbol to his credible achievement,” Namwamba said.

Kiptum's name will paint the hall alongside other iconic legends in the sports and creative economy realm, Ababu noted.

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"This hall celebrates the best of Kenya's sports and creatives such as Joe Kadenge, Paul Tergat and Ngugi wa Thiongo. We celebrated Kiptum in life, and we will continue to celebrate him in death," he added while giving his family Ksh10 million.

The late marathoner was also honoured early this month when he was crowned the 2023 Sportsman of the Year at the 20th edition of the Sports Personality of the Year Awards (SOYA).

Before his untimely demise, Kiptum ran the Chicago race in October in two hours and 35 seconds, slicing 34 seconds off the previous fastest time set by his Kenyan rival, the marathon legend Eliud Kipchoge.

While Kiptum only competed in three marathons, he won all of the races, posting three of the seven fastest times in history for the event.

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The men's marathon world record holder was laid to rest at his farm in Naiberi, about 20km from Eldoret. This was after he died following a tragic road accident which also claimed the life of his coach Gervais Hakizimana.

Kiptum’s family, friends and fellow athletes were joined by Kenyan President William Ruto and World Athletics President Sebastian Coe, who expressed their deep regret that “Kiptum never got to show his full potential”.

Kiptum left behind two children, his seven-year-old son Caleb and four-year-old daughter Precious. He was the only child of Samson Cheruiyot and Mary Kangogo.

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